Suggest me a sencha from Yame or Kagoshima

hello everybody, is quite time to order new tea for me, it will be the first afterh the tsunami and if i understood right, tea from yame and kagoshima are absolutely safe, can you confirm this? so i like to try a sencha from this places, the only thing is that i like asamushi, can you suggest me something?

There are several options (one Yame, several Kagoshima) for asamushi teas. Go to the bottom of that list - I recommend those 3 (Sencha from Sayama) - they aren't from the area you're looking into, but the current teas up for sale are from the 2010 harvest, so are completely unaffected by radiation concerns.

I have also sampled their Sencha from Yame, and it too, is excellent. It isn't super-light-steamed, but it isn't fukamushi either.

Den's Tea is another great vendor, but their Sencha Zuiko (from Honyama) is one of my favorite teas. But they are all Shizuoka, so for you, I guess nevermind ...

There are several options (one Yame, several Kagoshima) for asamushi teas. Go to the bottom of that list - I recommend those 3 (Sencha from Sayama) - they aren't from the area you're looking into, but the current teas up for sale are from the 2010 harvest, so are completely unaffected by radiation concerns.

I have also sampled their Sencha from Yame, and it too, is excellent. It isn't super-light-steamed, but it isn't fukamushi either.

Den's Tea is another great vendor, but their Sencha Zuiko (from Honyama) is one of my favorite teas. But they are all Shizuoka, so for you, I guess nevermind ...

One of the things that has prevented me from buying tea from this vendor is the fact that most of the teas are 1.5 years old. Personally, I like to buy green teas from the present year's harvest. I'm not saying that these teas are bad, but, green tea for me is about being fresh, being part of the spring cycle and more delicate than oolong and black teas which can handle more aging without losing its flavor and aroma.

There are several options (one Yame, several Kagoshima) for asamushi teas. Go to the bottom of that list - I recommend those 3 (Sencha from Sayama) - they aren't from the area you're looking into, but the current teas up for sale are from the 2010 harvest, so are completely unaffected by radiation concerns.

I have also sampled their Sencha from Yame, and it too, is excellent. It isn't super-light-steamed, but it isn't fukamushi either.

Den's Tea is another great vendor, but their Sencha Zuiko (from Honyama) is one of my favorite teas. But they are all Shizuoka, so for you, I guess nevermind ...

One of the things that has prevented me from buying tea from this vendor is the fact that most of the teas are 1.5 years old. Personally, I like to buy green teas from the present year's harvest. I'm not saying that these teas are bad, but, green tea for me is about being fresh, being part of the spring cycle and more delicate than oolong and black teas which can handle more aging without losing its flavor and aroma.

5/15 are from 2010, most of them (3) are sencha from Hiruma-san and are still very enjoyable (and kept airtight).

Let me clarify my statements regarding this vendor. My intention is not to cast a negative eye on him or influence anyone from not buying teas there. I actually want to buy teas from them but a few factors prevent me from doing so.

Normally, my preference is to buy organic teas. I don't see any listed on the site, at least the ones that I was interested in.

You are correct that many of the teas are 2011 harvest but it just so happened that some of the ones I was interested in were 2010. On further perusing, I found many teas from Shizuoka and Saitama, current harvest, where there is confirmed radioactive cesium contamination in the teas. For me, too many roadblocks this season to buy teas from Flo but I do wish him the best.

I understand, don't worry. You are right about the fact these teas don't appear to be organic. As a matter of fact, I have noticed that handmade teas, made by artisans or by "tea masters" are not often labelled organic. I know that for some little producers, the reason is that the cost of the certification is too high, but also I am wondering if traditional techniques are all compatible with the organic specifications.

A friend of mine is a renowned Calvados maker. He is doing his alcohol the way his grandfather taught him, knowledge he had himself inherited from his parents... Somehow, his making is incompatible with the organic certification, even if he doesn't use any pesticides.

Fireflower wrote:what can you tell me about zencha takumi and kiwami?they are chumushi, more asa or fuka oriented?

Takumi is definitely like a fuka. I have not had the Kiwami. Aren't all their Yame teas fuka, though? Maybe not this year, I haven't checked.

You should consider O-Cha's Organic Kirishima Sencha. I think the "Gold" version is excellent (have not had "Silver"). They have other new organic options as well, in all price ranges. I have ordered some of those but have yet to try them.

Fireflower wrote:what can you tell me about zencha takumi and kiwami?they are chumushi, more asa or fuka oriented?

Takumi is definitely like a fuka. I have not had the Kiwami. Aren't all their Yame teas fuka, though? Maybe not this year, I haven't checked.

You should consider O-Cha's Organic Kirishima Sencha. I think the "Gold" version is excellent (have not had "Silver"). They have other new organic options as well, in all price ranges. I have ordered some of those but have yet to try them.

The Yame from Zencha are Chumushi, and lean towards fuka in character ... IMO. Certainly worth trying, but does not fit the bill here as they do not resemble asa. Of any of them, the Kiwami is most asa-like based on last years.

I recently purchased the "Silver" version of Kirishima from O-Cha. I believe Kevin says this is somewhere between asa and chu. Sounds about right. It took a few brews for me to "understand" this organic. It wants to be sweet. Quite nice. Not strongly veggie nor grassy.

... except the OP is looking for asamushi. There are lots of Kyushu Island fuka and chu, not so much asa.

Another possibility ... Guricha, aka Tamaryokucha is a nice alternative to asamushi. It is lighter steamed and the ones from Xell, aka http://japantea.org/tamaryokucha are quite nice, nice veggie character.

I've sampled the kama-iri cha (pan-fired) Guricha from ToJ - it was awesome! I am tempted to get a full 100g. It is different from normal Sencha, but it still is close enough it just feels like a fun detour.